High school students representing all of Georgia turn out yearly for the ACSFN-sponsored Atlanta Brain Bee. In this elimination-style competition, students answer questions about the functioning of the brain and nervous system one by one until a single winner remains. The winner is sent to the National Brain Bee to represent the state of Georgia, and the top 3 finishers receive monetary prizes. The Bee provides a great chance to show off your impressive knowledge of neuroscience and promotes the development of critical thought.

The next Atlanta Brain Bee will be held at 9:00am on January 26, 2013 at Emory University. Sign up here! Please note there is a $25 fee for participation.

Eligibility: Georgia students in grades 9-12 are welcome to participate. Students from neighboring states that do not hold their own brain bees may compete as well.

Format: The Brain Bee will consist of a preliminary written round and a final oral round. All students will participate in the written round, which consists of about 40 multiple choice questions. These exams will be graded on site and registrants receiving the top 50% of scores will go on to the oral round. In the oral round, the students are asked questions one by one and must answer aloud. A student will be eliminated from the competition after answering three questions incorrectly. The last remaining student will be named the Georgia Regional Brain Bee Champion and will be eligible to compete in the National Brain Bee,  which takes place in Baltimore, MD. The top three finishers will receive monetary prizes.

Preparation: Questions from the written and oral rounds are based on Brain Facts, a primer on the brain and nervous system that is published by the Society for Neuroscience. Brain Facts is available for download as a PDF at the link above. It may also help to look at the sample questions released on the International Brain Bee website. Finally, as any neuroscientist knows, getting a good sleep the night before the Bee is critical for top performance!

Still have questions? Contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 Previous winner:

 2012:  Grand prize winner was Shawn Albert of Snellville, who is a senior at The Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology.  The second place finisher was Sara Dada (junior, Wheeler High School) and third place was awarded to Karim Lakhani (sophomore, Douglas County High School). See News Story